How much would you spend on a smartphone? According to Statista.com, the average selling price for a smartphone in North America is $567. You can actually purchase them for less if you're willing to buy one that's a couple of years old. You can even get really old models for free with a two-year carrier contract.

But, if you want the latest and greatest then it's going to cost you a pretty penny. The base prices for the newest models start at about $650. The next iPhone could even be twice that amount!

Rumor has it that the next iPhone will cost over $1,000! That's more than a 13-inch MacBook Air with 512 GB or a Wi-fi enabled 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 256GB; both of those Apple products cost only $999. Since it's bound to be significantly smaller, they're going to have to pack a lot of features into a device that's less than six inches long.

From what we've heard, Apple has plans to do just that. Here are the features we're expecting that will make it worth that huge price tag.

OLED Display

Reports are emerging that we will see three separate iPhone models in 2017 - two "s" models that will likely be just upgraded versions of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus and a premium version codenamed "Ferrari" that may rock a 5.8 -inch borderless, curved OLED display.

Apple might replace the premium model's glass screen with an all-plastic material that will curve all around the smartphone's front. The plastic OLED screens will be supplied by South Korean tech company Samsung, which coincidentally, is also Apple's chief rival in the smartphone space. But what might really set apart the iPhone 8 OLED curved screen from Samsung's is Apple's use of hardware capable of new sensing technologies.

Aside from their flexibility, OLED screens also have pixels that are self-illuminating that do not rely on other light sources like LED screens do.

Facial and Gesture Control

An investor research note by Cowen and Company analyst Timothy Arcuri indicates that some sort of facial and gesture recognition sensors may be included in this premium iPhone 8 and these will be enabled by a laser and an infrared sensor near the front camera. These sensors can then be used for additional biometric security and for controlling smart appliances with hand gestures.

The other details from Arcuri's note corroborate what has been reported before - two upgraded 's' models of the iPhone 7 and the premium version codenamed "Ferrari."

Better waterproofing

Another rumor that's making the rounds is about the next iPhone's dust and water resistance. As you can recall, the iPhone 7 currently has an IP67 rating, meaning it has the highest level of dust protection and water immersion protection of up to three feet of fresh water for 30 minutes. The next iPhone 8 (or X), however, may be upgraded to an IP68 rating, as a report from The Korea Herald suggests. This means that it can withstand water immersion for over 30 minutes in up to about five feet of water.

More flashy features:

Wireless charging - Instead of plugging your phone in to charge it, you can place it on a charging dock for wireless charging.

Invisible home button - The home button will be embedded into the front glass display.

No borders on front display - The front surface on next year's iPhone could be all-display, with no bezel.

Dual-lens camera - The dual-lens camera is currently available only on the iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone 7 does not have it. This is said to be the case with next year's models also, the smaller version will not have the dual lens camera.

**The name change**

Several people speculate that the premium iPhone won't be named the iPhone 8, but the "iPhone X" instead. The X suffix is entirely plausible since this year marks the iPhone's 10th anniversary and X is the Roman numeral for 10.